inherited

Hi, my name is Anne and I am a nostalgia addict.

A recent discussion about the design of the modern kitchen and a request from a friend for an image of my little kitchen have got my brain ticking over. I have a small but very functional kitchen. It’s got deep benches (and hence cupboard space), pull-out small pantry storage, a goodly portion of drawers and some decent cupboards for my odd collection of serving ware. One of my favourite elements is the two level revolving wire shelves that enable me to have full access to the very corner of the corner.

All this storage allows me to welcome new additions to my kitchen collection without much thought to where I might put it. At least for a while. And it was with this welcoming spirit that I accepted a gift of a Kenwood Chef circa 1980 from my Nonna. Truth be told she never really used it. Too heavy for her to lift up and down from her bench space (lucky she never bought a Kitchenaid) and she is of the era where doing things by hand means literally using one’s hands only. My mother on the other hand had one of these glorious beasts and I have fond memories of the baked and blended items it produced.

And now I have inherited one of my very own. But it isn’t the only inherited item in my cupboards: I have cookbooks (mother), a waffle press (Nonna), a beautiful white milk-glass bowl (Nanna), a 1800ml green glass sake bottle where I keep my rice in the Japanese way (a foreign friend) amongst others.

I love that when I use any of these items I have an image of the person who gave them and a warm sense of their generosity. I know not everyone feels this way about handed down items but then again not everyone’s a nostalgia addict.